Synizesis
Synizesis (/ˌsɪnəˈziːsɪs/) is a sound change (metaplasm) in which two originally syllabic vowels are pronounced as a single syllable without change in writing.[1] In Latin and Greek, this was often to preserve meter, but similar changes occur naturally in languages.
A tie may be used to represent this pronunciation: dē͡hinc (i.e., deinc).
Examples
Greek
| Iliad 1.1–2 | μῆνιν ἄειδε θεὰ Πηληϊάδε͡ω Ἀχιλῆος |
| οὐλομένην | |
| Mênin áeide theā̀ Pēlēïáde͡ō Akhilêos | |
| ouloménēn |
Latin
Vergil's Aeneid:
| 1.41 | ūnĭus ob nox |
| 1.131 | Eur |
| 6.412 | dēturbat laxatque forōs; simul accipit alve͡ō |
Etymology
Synizesis comes from the Greek συνίζησις "a sitting together" from σύν "with" and ἵζω "I sit".
See also
References
- ^ Greenough, J. B. (2001) [1903], Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar (Focus ed.), Newburyport, MA: Focus Publishing, p. 392 (§603 c. n.), ISBN 1-58510-042-0; Smyth, Herbert Weir (1984) [1920], Greek Grammar, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, pp. 19–20 (§60–61), ISBN 0-674-36250-0
 | This linguistics article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |